Chapter 124 Different Training Methods
Above the Castle, Draco sat on his Nimbus 2001, while Aaron sat opposite him on a dark blue magic carpet.
"I'm ready," Draco said, both nervous and excited.
Aaron nodded, then opened a wooden box and released the Golden Snitch from it.
The golden orb's wings vibrated at a high frequency, emitting a 'buzzing' sound, and soon it became a golden blur, moving erratically at high speed in the air.
However, due to magic being cast upon it, the Snitch's flight range was somewhat restricted, only able to fly wildly around Malfoy Manor.
"The Golden Snitch is the Seeker's target on the Quidditch Pitch, but the Pitch isn't just about the Golden Snitch," Aaron said, tossing a quaffle from the wooden box upwards.
The bright red quaffle began to dart around, circling several times in mid-air before disappearing.
"Next is the main point.
The bludger; you should know this ball is aggressive and the most dangerous in Quidditch."
Draco nodded; this was common knowledge, known to everyone who loved Quidditch.
"Your training is to catch the Golden Snitch."
"Huh? Is it that simple?" Draco was stunned, a little slow to react. "Actually, I trained this way before you came."
"You have some awareness, but not enough.
You should be clear about how effective individual training can be, but a match is never a one-person affair; there are teammates, and naturally, opponents.
However, in the upcoming training, you have no teammates, and I am your opponent."
"What do you mean?"
Draco asked with some concern; he didn't think he could match Aaron's strength. If Aaron was his opponent, it wasn't a question of whether he could win, but how long he could last.
Aaron raised an eyebrow, picked up a bat, and swung it symbolically. "I will continuously attack you with bludgers until you catch the Golden Snitch.
Besides the ones I chase myself, every five minutes, I will also use Accio to recall a bludger far from you, and then attack.
You can only dodge, not counterattack.
You decide when the training ends: either you catch the Golden Snitch, or I knock you off your broom."
"That's not fair!" Draco swallowed, looking at the two bludgers in the wooden box ready to fly out at any moment, his heart instantly leaping into his throat.
These were ten-inch iron balls; if he was hit by one, he'd be lucky to only suffer a fracture.
"Draco, I'm giving you a free lesson today.
There is no such thing as fairness in this world; only the weak ask for fairness.
Believe it or not, my training method would be a joke to those famous international teams; their training is much stricter."
"I believe that, but..."
"No buts," Aaron said directly, then looked at Dracoseriously. "You just need to tell me if you accept or not."
Draco hesitated for a moment, his gaze unconsciously shifting towards the Castle, where he saw Lucius and Narcissa watching him through a window. He nodded solemnly, "I accept; Malfoy is no weakling."
Hearing this, Aaron scoffed, "Whether you're a weakling is never up to you.
But your answer is not bad; at least it proves you don't want to be a weakling."
"Dobby."
"Here!" The House-elf standing on the ground immediately held up the Potion box in his hand. "All the Potions are ready. I will keep a close eye on Young Master, and if anything goes wrong, I'll..."
At this point, Dobby thought of something and immediately shut his mouth, repeatedly banging his head against the Potion box.
Aaron's face was full of dark lines. He had wanted the little elf to show some presence, hoping that if he performed well and his master was pleased, his life in the Malfoy household might improve slightly.
But facts proved he was being superfluous; Dobby couldn't seize an opportunity even when given one.
"You see," Draco shrugged, "Dobby is used to abusing himself; I estimate he'll never change in this lifetime."
"Forget it, let's begin!"
As his words fell, Aaron swung his bat and sent a bludgerflying out.
Draco immediately dodged, but no sooner had he avoided the first than the second bludger grazed past his head.
"This is a lesson; there are two bludgers on the Pitch.
Although you have six teammates, you must always be prepared to be isolated and helpless."
Draco silently glanced at the intimidating bat in Aaron's hand, then immediately turned to chase the Golden Snitch.
Aaron smiled, controlling his magic carpet to search for the bludger.
After all, he was at someone else's home, so he still let Dracohave a slight advantage. The magic carpet wasn't slow, but in the current scenario, it was far less convenient than a flying broom.
Draco's eyes darted around, diligently searching for the Golden Snitch while flying at high speed.
However, the two bludgers constantly flew past him, severely affecting his concentration, and there was also a quaffle flying wildly around the field, obstructing his vision.
Compared to this training, his usual training was like playing house, completely lacking the thrill of being on the Pitch.
But the danger level had also increased by several notches; a slight lapse could result in being knocked off the field.
Draco persisted for about ten minutes, and amidst the whistling of the bludgers and quaffle, he spotted a golden glimmer.
However, before he could be happy for three seconds, a strong sense of danger emerged in his mind. Dracosubconsciously turned sideways, and a bludger flew past his right side, leaving half a clear ball-mark on his robe.
"Someone seems to have forgotten that I make a precise attack every five minutes."
"I didn't forget!" Draco shouted.
"That's best; neither of us wants Dobby's Potion box to be opened today, do we?"
Draco rolled his eyes, turned his head to look, and his eyes instantly widened, even letting out an unintentional expletive.
Damn!
The Golden Snitch, which had been hovering there, had disappeared. He had to search for his target again amidst the pincer attack of the bludgers and quaffle.
Seeing this, Aaron silently mourned for Draco for a second in his heart, then decided to add a little pressure.
He casually placed his bat on the magic carpet, pulled out a bottle of soda and some snacks from Abey's pocket, and then loudly shouted encouragement.
Draco stumbled, nearly falling off his broom.
"What are you doing?"
"As a Seeker, you cannot be affected by the crowd's voices.
The Golden Snitch is your target."
"But, isn't this a bit too... I just feel like you're making fun of me."
"Heh heh!" Aaron shook his head. "You have to understand one thing: on the Quidditch field, your supporters will cheer for you, while your opponents will do the exact opposite, finding ways to interfere with you.
I bet Harry Potter wouldn't be in a good mood if he heard your voice on the Pitch."
"I understand," Draco said with a bitter smile. "Even though it's annoying, I still think what you said makes a lot of sense."
"Go on!" Aaron bit into a biscuit, waving his hand somewhat impatiently.
Draco's smile grew even more bitter, but he still turned to look for the Golden Snitch.
Inside the Castle, Narcissa watched this scene, her eyes twitching slightly. "This child really is... interesting!"
"He is quite interesting, and Draco's training today is more effective than a whole week of his usual training. This will be very helpful to him."
"More than that, right?" Narcissa smiled meaningfully. "Joining the Slytherin Quidditch team and becoming its Seeker will, to some extent, raise the reputation of the House of Malfoy and give Draco some fame.
But what's more important?"
"You know me best," Lucius gave his wife a warm smile, then turned his gaze to Aaron. "I want Draco to build a good relationship with the heir of the hidden family. This can be considered a fallback for Malfoy."
Upon hearing this, Narcissa's expression immediately became solemn, and a hint of panic inevitably appeared in her eyes.
Lucius immediately comforted her: "The situation might not be that bad. You-Know-Who might never return."
"Keep that to yourself to deceive yourself!
You-Know-Who's situation is dire, but we both know how powerful his magic is. He's not that easy to die."
"Shh!"
Lucius made a shushing gesture. Although he was in his own home, he still felt lingering fear when mentioning You-Know-Who.
Seeing her husband so terrified, Narcissa didn't know how to comfort him, as You-Know-Who was an indelible shadow in their hearts.
"I'm already trying my best to clean up and erase the connection between Malfoy and You-Know-Who.
But it's better to be safe than sorry.
What if You-Know-Who revives, what if he rules the Magical World again, what if he forces Malfoy to submit again, what if..."
Lucius said 'what if' three times in a row, but by the fourth, he didn't have the courage to continue. Instead, he took a deep breath, looked at Aaron outside the window, "With the protection of his family, even if something happens to us, Draco won't be implicated.
Malfoy had some cooperation with his family a few hundred years ago, but it was more of an employment relationship than cooperation.
At that time, Malfoy came to a conclusion: those families would not actively interfere in any affairs of the Magical World, but no matter how chaotic the world became, they had the ability to protect themselves."